Cochran County History

Cochran County was formed in 1876 from Bexar and Young Counties. It is located on the western side of the Texas Panhandle. Cochran is bordered on the north by Bailey, on the east by Hockley, on the south by Yoakum, and on the west by Roosevelt and Lea Counties, New Mexico. It was named for Robert E. Cochran, who died at the Alamo. The county seat is Morton.

At its beginning, Cochran County was a vast area of rolling plains and grasslands inhabited by jackrabbits, coyotes, bison and pronghorn antelope.

Between 1876 and 1921 the residents numbered less than 70 people. The main source of its economy was cattle ranches. Then in 1921, a huge ranch, The Slaughter Cattle Company, was sold by the heirs of C. C. Slaughter to the area farmers.

Because King Cotton had become the county's main source of income, the Great Depression of the 1930's almost destroyed its economy. However, when oil was discovered in 1936, Cochran County regained its financial stability.

Cochran county's cultural events include a rodeo, county fair and a museum.

While its population has remained small, its farms, cattle ranches, and oil make it an integral part of the Texas Heritage.

Source: The Handbook of Texas

For more detailed information on Cochran Co. see  The Handbook of Texas Online.

Robert E. Cochran in The Handbook of Texas Online

Robert E. Cochran on GenForum

Christopher Columbus Slaughter

Towns in Cochran County

Historical Markers & Buildings in Cochran County

7 Historical Markers      1 Historical Museum

Bledsoe:  Marker #5522  Marker Title: Bledsoe  Year Marker Erected:1970  Marker Location: At intersection of FM 595 & SH 125 - MARKER MISSING  Marker Text: Promoted and founded in July 1925 by South Plains & Santa Fe Railroad. Named for railroad president, S. T. Bledsoe. In late 1920s became important cattle shipping point. It was also county's largest town. Population hit 750. Began decline after rail freight traffic decreased in 1930s.

Cochran County : Marker #927 Marker Title: Cochran County  Marker Location: at Courthouse Square, North Main Street, Morton  Year Marker Erected: 1936  Marker Text: Created August 21, 1876, from Bexar County. Named for a native of New Jersey, Robert Cochran, a private who died for Texas Independence in the siege of the Alamo. Indian hostilities and the distance to market and supplies made settlement slow. The 1900 census listed 25 cowboys. In 1910 there were 75 persons, then 67 in 1920. Organized May 6, 1924, with Morton as county seat. Oil discovery and development of irrigation caused rapid growth, and made it a farm and petroleum center. Site of Silver Lake, a saline lake known to early Spanish Explorers as Laguna Quemado.

Slaughter Ranch: Marker #4948  Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark  Year Marker Erected: 1962 Marker Location: From Morton take Highway 214 south about 2 miles; turn west onto Highway 1169 about .5 miles to driveway - drive south to site.  Marker size: Medallion and Plate  Marker Text: Up of 246,669 acres of Cochran and Hockley county lands. Col. C. C. Slaughter - a leader in banking, ranching and religious life in Texas - purchased land 1898-1901. First headquarters was a half-dugout. In 1915, C. C. Slaughter Cattle Company, Inc. brought men from Mexico to build this adobe and concrete quadrangle, on order of a Spanish hacienda. This was one of finest Texas ranch buildings of its era.

Smith Office:   Marker #4955  Marker Title: Smith Office  Location: 116 North Main Street, Morton  Marker Size: Medallion and Plate  Designation: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark  Marker Text: Destroyed

Surratt Territory, Old: Marker #11812  Marker Title: Old Surratt Territory  Year Marker Erected:1999   Marker Location: 17.4 mi. S of Morton on SH 214;2.5 mi. W on FM 1585 (S side of road) Marker size 27" x 42"  Marker Text: Once representative of the late-19th century settlement and ranching history of the vast grasslands of the Texas Panhandle. Marshall Surratt (1849-1927), and East Texas native who settled in Waco and came a prominent attorney and district judge, purchased the 53 sections of land in 1885. although the territory was known by his name, Jude Surratt never lived in Cochran County; he leased the acreage to the Jumbo Cattle Company. Operated by brothers Nick and John Beal and John Beal's brother-in-law, F. G. Oxsheer, the Jumbo was one of a number of large ranching operations, including those owned by such famous cattlemen as C. C. Slaughter and George Littlefield, that thrived despite several years of winter blizzards and summer droughts. Wells and windmills were located throughout the Surratt Territory to provide reliable water sources for the herds of cattle roaming its plains. The early history of Cochran County settlement is the history of its ranching. The census of 1890 revealed no permanent residents; in 1900 ranchers working in the county accounted for its population of 25, and by 1920 the figure had risen to 67. As free range ranching gave way to fenced pastures of large syndicates and smaller family farms and ranches, the once vast ranch lands were divided. These smaller operations resulted in a division of lands and a surge in population, as reflected by the 1930 census figure of 1,963. Purchased by a succession of absentee landowners after 1900, the Surratt Territory remained intact until 1953.

Telephone Office in Cochran County, First:  Marker #1875  Marker Title: First Telephone Office in Cochran County  Year Marker Erected: 1969  Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark  Marker Location: 206 Southwest 1st Street, Morton  Marker Text: Erected 1925 at western terminus of South Plains and Santa Fe Railway in Bledsoe (25 miles southwest), for Texas Telephone Company; moved to Morton 1926. Outgrown for phone company use in 1949, building became county museum in 1968.

Whiteface Historical Museum: Form # 457  Museum Name: Whiteface Historical Museum  Mailing Address: P O Box 65 Whiteface 79379 Street Address: 2nd & Taylor Director: Mrs. Marvin Laster

Whiteface Motel, Former:   Marker # 5787  Marker Title: Former Whiteface Motel  Designations: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark  Marker Location: 100 block of West 2nd Street - Whiteface  Marker Text: Built 1926 by realtor William E. Flenniken, this was first brick structure in town. It housed land shoppers when Cochran County was opened to sales of small tracts. Given 1968 to Girlstown U.S.A. by J. S. Noel estate, for use of the management.

Source: Texas Historic Sites Atlas